Business Planning Outline

Step 1. Business Analysis including:

  1. Financials
  2. Budget projection out 12 months
  3. Business structure & HR organization model chart including:
    1. Ownership & business structure
    2. Control
    3. Management
    4. Labor
    5. Advisors
  4. Risk assessment
  5. HR workbook including:
    1. Job Descriptions
    2. Training
    3. Mentoring
    4. CE
    5. HR Succession plan
    6. Compensation including:
      • Metrics
      • Incentives
      • Benefits
      • Salary
  6. Operational model charts including:
    1. Capital & revenue Flow(s)
    2. Supplies & vendor Chain
    3. Stock Flow(s) with metrics
    4. Marketing & sales

Step 2. Strategic Plan

in chronological order, Including:

  1. Owners’ values
  2. Owners’ land vision
  3. Owners’ Land business vision
  4. Business Description & Mission
  5. Straw Plan (including production, revenue & risks)
  6. Business structure including:
    1. Ownership & business structure
    2. Control
  7. Marketing Plan
    1. Customer Profiles
    2. Research
    3. Feedback loops
    4. Pricing
    5. Advertising
    6. Manufacturing
    7. Distribution
  8. Capital Plan
    1. Operational Capital
    2. Investment capitalization
    3. Owner compensation model
  9. HR organization model chart including:
    1. Management
    2. Labor
    3. Advisors
  10. Land Business Strategic Goals & Metrics
  11. Risk management plan ( e.g. markets, food safety, HR, legal, regulatory, crop & forage weather, catastrophic flood & drought, epidemiological, etc)
  12. Succession plan including:
    1. Estate plans for owners
    2. Successor Qualifications
    3. Recruiting
    4. Timing

Step 3. Land Business Operational & Conservation Plan, Including:

  1. Land Practice & Operational Policies & BMP Document (operational handbook)
  2. Assessment
  3. GIS System Setup. NOTE: this need not be computer based.
  4. Capital Infrastructure, Rehabilitation, and Restoration Implementation Plan; these should all be planned together. The plan must be map based and incorporate the landowner’s strategic plan, be reviewable by the business’s controller, managers, and advisors.
  5. Measuring & metrics monitoring plan.